When we go into a supermarket or a health store, we find a wide variety of products for our gastrointestinal tract. The industry has long understood that these products have a high potential to make money. More and more we also learn to understand how important gut health is for athletes. There are several papers who talk about a healthy intestinal tract, gut bacteria and overall health. We know that exercise helps your gut. People who exercise regularly tend to have a healthier gut than people who sit in their couch and don’t move much. Read more »

This old paper made me think about the nutrition knowledge of support staff in elite sports (but not only). Nutrition, as we all know, is a very special area. We all have to eat, we all shop, we all are exposed to advertisements, we all hear about trends and new diets, many read articles about nutrition and a few 🙁 still cook (microwaving and baking a pizza dough is not cooking 🙂 ). Because everyone needs food, some people think we all are experts in nutrition but there is more than buying “bio” and local to become a nutrition expert. Read more »

It’s been around forever: milk causes increased mucus production in athletes, it’s better to avoid it. Usually, the problem of increased mucus production is linked to respiratory diseases such as asthma. Researchers have investigated the hypothesis in this population to understand that problem better but could only confirm that the link exists in a small subgroup of people with asthma.

Reading through health and sport magazines, I usually find a lot of articles featuring new products on the market. Vitamins, minerals, superfoods, proteins and many other supplements which will help us perform better – according to the companies’ claims. Most of the time the claims are wrong, the evidence is missing and for me, who works in the sport nutrition field and promotes healthy eating, the question remains always: what about an athlete’s every day nutrition? Shouldn’t we first be looking at what athletes eat at home, how they shop, what they put into their shopping basket, if they have basic cooking skills before we talk about supplements?

Many people go to the supermarket, look at a label on the package but don’t really know how to read a nutrition facts label. Others are advised to use the food label because they are intolerant or allergic to some nutrients and need to identify the foods they can eat. And then there’s another group – athletes often included – who want to cut back on hidden calories and fats and want to make sure what they buy is healthy and without additives.

FODMAP has been in the news quite a lot in the past months. Also athletes have heard or FODMAP and some have decided to switch to a FODMAP diet because they feel great. But what is FODMAP and is a low FODMAP diet meant to become our usual diet?

Taking a tour through a big grocery store, I wonder about all the superfoods. Almost every aisle promotes at least one magic food item which is thought to be superior to all its colleagues. More micronutrients, better health, well-being, better performance and promoting weight loss – and a long way to get here. There is hardly any superfood that is local, all those promising foods come from the other side of the world. It seems there’s nothing local that can support our immune system, provide micronutrients, antioxidants and make us feel good. No, the superfood has to go a long way. Read more »